Selge December 2013 5112.jpg

The theater is dated from the 2nd century AD (Roman era) and was restored a century later. It is about 80 m wide and could hold some 9500 people. The stage building was destroyed by lightning at the beginning of the 20th century.Generally the ‘cavea’ (seating area) of a Roman theater is organised in three horizontal sections, corresponding to the social class of the spectators: the lowest part (‘ima cavea’), the one directly surrounding the orchestra, was usually preserved for the upper echelons of society; the middle part (‘media cavea’) was open to the general public, though mostly reserved for men; the highest section (‘summa cavea’) was usually open to women and children. In this theater there are only two sections, as the lowest and middle parts were combined.